WINNIPEG – After being pulled off injured reserve earlier in the week Winnipeg Jets goalie Steve Mason is back between the pipes.
Mason took part in his first full practice on Wednesday after missing the last two weeks with a concussion stemming from when he was hit in the mask with a shot. It’s certainly not the first time he’s been hit up high with a puck, and probably won’t be the last.
“Goalies get hit in the head all the time and it doesn’t always feel good, but usually you don’t feel anything after the fact.” Mason said. “But this was just a case where I wasn’t feeling great, probably 10-15 minutes after the shot had hit me.”
Mason, 29, had a tough start to the season after losing his first four starts with the Jets. But he was victorious in his last two starts before getting hurt and hasn’t allowed more than two goals in a game in his last five appearances.
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He had been skating on his own the last week and a half in an effort to regain his previous form.
“Feeling great.” he said. “It was just a matter of passing the concussion protocol testing which is all your computer, and verbal, and written test, so that was more frustrating than anything.”
Mason had to pass concussion testing before getting cleared to return. Studying game film is one thing but hitting the books is completely different.
“In school I wasn’t too worried about passing a test or not,” Mason said. “But in this case, the only way I was coming back was if I passed it, so I put a little bit more pressure on myself to study for it I guess.”
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The Jets play games on every other day up until their Christmas break so his services will be required with a busy stretch ahead. Jets head coach Paul Maurice said it’s a possibility he could be back guarding the Jets’ goal at some point this weekend.
“He’s going to be a real important guy going in the next six weeks especially.” Maurice said.
“We’ll have half our road schedule done by Christmas and he’s going to have to play in these games. We need him to play in these games.”
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